The news agency quotes Jamal Agha, the chief of the Zhari district as saying: "Both of them were innocent children and had nothing to do with government or foreigners."

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi has denied responsibility for the killings, telling AFP the accusations are government propaganda to "distract from attacks such as in Kabul this morning", referring to a Taliban strike in the capital's airport earlier on Monday.

Police spokesman Ghorzang Afridi told the agency: "The children used to go to a police checkpoint to collect food and other things thrown away by police, so the Taliban thought they were spies and abducted them and beheaded them."